Page 99 of Savage Beauty

Sloane’s messenger back hangs in front of her body. One hand still lingers inside the flap.

“You got more knives in there?”

She lifts the flap. The inside is custom designed to hold flat blades. Below the blades are star-shaped knives. Christ. Absolutely savage.

Sloane’s skin is flushed. Her eyes are glassy. Her index finger rubs back and forth over her thumbnail.

There’s nothing I can do for the putz on the ground. But I can calm Sloane.

The sirens grow louder, cutting through the breeze. A passenger van zips by on the road, unaware of the tragedy on the drive.

“You sure you’re okay?” I pull her to my side. Her arms are stiff, one hand still tucked inside the messenger bag.

“I’m not hurt.”

I’m not so positive I agree with her. Years in the military have taught me there’s a vast array of wounds, and the nonphysical can be as lethal as the physical.

“You always carry weapons with you?”

“Not always. But most of the time. Sage is the optimist. I’m the realist.”

The sirens grow louder, and they’ll be here any minute.

“You ready to answer questions? Medics will be here soon.”

“I’ll tell them everything. Do you think I’ll go to jail for the rest of my life?”

“What? No. This was self-defense.” She’s so stiff in my arms. I rub my palm in a brisk motion up and down her arm, trying to bring her back to me, to the present. “Dr. Kallio was self-defense, too. I saw the gun.”

“They both wanted to kill me.”

“Do you know why?”

“Their boss told them to kill me. William was the one who wanted to keep me alive.”

“Is that right?”

“They’re using those people in the compounds to test all kinds of things. When they get a formulation that works, they begin ethical testing under legal scrutiny. My guess is there are drugs already on the market that were tested this way, and if this all came out, those drugs would have to be recalled. Both Dr. Kallio and William mentioned other people. Neither of them wanted to kill me.” Her glazed eyes have me wondering if she’s seeing anything.

I press the side of her head to my chest and wrap an arm around her, wishing I could remove her from all of this.

“Is Dr. Kallio dead?”

“Yeah.” The ambulance will be here any second, but I’m not feeling particularly optimistic about the outlook for the man on the ground, either.

“I couldn’t let William hurt you.”

“Sometimes death saves life.”

“Sam. He used to say that. You said it too.”

The ambulance careens into the driveway, and the front doors open. A man in a uniform with jaw length dreadlocks steps forward, mouth open, aghast at what he’s seeing.

“Aw, man. What the hellz happened here?” He bends to check the pulse. “Roger, get the gurney.”

He glances up at us. “What happened?”

“Self-defense.” I answer and gesture to the handgun.

---